Global Monitoring Report 2012

The Global Monitoring Report 2015/2016, produced by the World Bank Group in partnership with the International Monetary Fund, comes at an inflection point in both the setting of global development goals and the demographic trends affecting those goals. This year marks the end of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the launching of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while the World Bank Group has in parallel articulated the twin goals of sustainably ending extreme poverty and sharing prosperity. This report presents the latest global poverty numbers, based on the 2011 purchasing power parity (PPP) data, and examines the pace of development progress through the lens of the evolving global development goals. The special theme of this year's report examines the complex interaction between demographic change and development. With the number of children approaching a global ceiling of two billion, the world's population is growing slower. It is also aging faster, with the share of people of working age starting a decline in 2013. But the direction and pace of these trends vary starkly across countries, with sizeable demographic disparities between centers of global poverty (marked by high fertility) and drivers of global growth (marked by rapid aging). These demographic disparities are expected to deeply affect the pursuit of the post-2015 agenda, accentuating existing challenges and creating new opportunities.

This year's report summarizes the short- and long-term impact of food prices on several MDGs, explores future trends, and review policy responses, from domestic policies such as social safety nets, nutritional programs and agricultural policies, to regional trade policies to support by the international community.

The Global Monitoring Report 2013: Rural-Urban Dynamics and the Millennium Development Goals examines rural-urban disparities in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and how urbanization, if managed well, can contribute to the attainment of these goals. The report provides information about the differences in progress toward the MDGs across geographical areas and recognizes that urban populations are better off than their rural brethren. However, unfettered urbanization can cause migrants and the urban poor to end up in slums where attainment of the MDGs lags. GMR 2013 calls for an integrated strategy to better manage the planning-connecting-financing formula of urbanization. Notwithstanding the importance of urbanization in poverty reduction and MDG attainment, rural areas remain a huge challenge--one that underscores the importance of policies that can improve rural livelihoods. The rural-urban spectrum ranges from small towns to large cities. The general experience is that poverty is lowest in the largest cities and considerably higher in smaller towns. The MDGs reflect the basic needs of all citizens, and governments should aim to meet them fully in both urban and rural areas. However, resources are scarce, so priorities must be set and trade-offs made. The report argues that the sequencing of actions be tailored to local conditions when it comes to the degree of urbanization and rural-urban differences in MDG outcomes. The world has met four global MDG targets. New estimates confirm the 2012 reports that MDG 1.a--reducing the $1.25-a-day poverty rate (2005 purchasing power parity)--was reached in 2010, falling below half of its 1990 value. The world also met part of MDG 7.c--to halve the proportion of people without safe access to drinking water--in 2010. MDG 7.d--to improve significantly the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020--was also achieved. Finally, the first part of MDG 3.a--to eliminate gender disparity in primary education-- was accomplished in 2010. Global progress on the full MDG 3.a (to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education) is close to being on track. Global Monitoring Report 2013 was prepared jointly by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, with consultations and collaborations with regional development banks and other multilateral partners.

Global Monitoring Report (GMR) 2013 provides an annual assessment of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and addresses this year's theme of rural-urban dynamics and the MDGs.

The 2013/2014 Education for All Global Monitoring Report shows that a lack of attention to education quality and a failure to reach the marginalized have contributed to a learning crisis that needs urgent attention. Worldwide, 250 million children many of them from disadvantaged backgrounds are not learning the basics. Teaching and Learning: Achieving Quality for All describes how policy-makers can support and sustain a quality education system for all children, regardless of background, by providing the best teachers. The Report also documents global progress in achieving Education for All goals and provides lessons for setting a new education agenda post-2015. In addition, the Report identifies that insufficient financing is hindering advances in education.

This publication assesses progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) on education and its ten targets, as well as other related education targets in the SDG agenda. It addresses inclusion in education, drawing attention to all those excluded from education, because of background or ability. The report is motivated by the explicit reference to inclusion in the 2015 Incheon Declaration, and the call to ensure an inclusive and equitable quality education in the formulation of SDG 4, the global goal for education. It reminds us that, no matter what argument may be built to the contrary, we have a moral imperative to ensure every child has a right to an appropriate education of high quality.

When wars break out, international attention and media reporting invariably focus on the most immediate images of human suffering. Yet behind these images is a hidden crisis. Across many of the world's poorest countries, armed conflict is destroying not just school infrastructure, but the hopes and ambitions of generations of children. The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education documents the devastating effects of armed conflict on education. It examines the widespread human rights abuses keeping children out of school. The Report challenges an international aid system that is failing conflict-affected states, with damaging consequences for education. It warns that schools are often used to transmit intolerance, prejudice and social injustice. This ninth edition of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report calls on governments to demonstrate greater resolve in combating the culture of impunity surrounding attacks on schoolchildren and schools. It sets out an agenda for fixing the International aid architecture. And it identifies strategies for strengthening the role of education in peacebuilding. The Report includes statistical indicators on all levels of education in more than 200 countries and territories. It serves as an authoritative reference for education policy-makers, development specialists, researchers and the media

"Many young people around the world --- especially the disadvantaged --- are leaving school without the skills they need to thrive in society and find decent jobs. As well as thwarting young people's hopes, these education failures are jeopardizing equitable economic growth and social cohesion, and preventing many countries from reaping the potential benefits of their growing youth populations. The 2012 Education for All Global Monitoring Report examines how skills development programmes can be improved to boost young people's opportunities for decent jobs and better lives."--Publisher's description